A passive mechanical hand has fingers that are moveable with the help of the other hand or the environment. This means that a mechanical hand can be used to hold something. The first passive mechanical hand was developed and used by the German knight Gottfried "Götz" von Berlichingen in the sixteenth century.
Active prostheses allow the user to grasp objects, using specific movements of the body without the help of another hand. There are two types of active prostheses: body-powered and externally powered.
Body-powered prostheses, invented in the nineteenth century, are usually attached to the body with a harness. The hands or hooks at the end are opened and closed through body movements, like stretching out the arm. These prostheses are made from plastic, metal, and fabric for the straps of the harness.
Externally powered active prostheses have been widely used since the 1960s. They are called "externally-powered," because they need an external power source, a battery. These types of prostheses are the complex robotic hands and arms that you sometimes see in movies or computer games. These prostheses are made from plastics, metal, and many electrical components, like motors and microprocessors.

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